Alastair Goldfisher

It should come as little surprise to VC watchers that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is often quoted and talked about in the media. The firm, which boasts such high-profile partners as John Doerr and Brook Byers in addition to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, also […]

Mark Brooks has been battling a minor cold. But when talking about health, it’s not his own that gets him fired up. Brooks, managing director of Scale Venture Partners, talked to me today about healthcare investing. Despite the sniffles, overall, I’d say he is optimistic about the industry. He admits there are challenges that lie ahead, but he says that “the fundamentals of our business is good.” And why wouldn’t he be excited about the new year? Alimera Sciences, one of two ophthalmology companies that the Foster City, Calif.-based firm has backed, is in registration for an $80 million IPO. And Brooks says he sees plenty of opportunities to find deals with good valuations. Brooks and I also chatted about health care reform and the 28th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that launches next week. Q&A after the jump...

“I’m an optimist,” Reid Hoffman told me during a break at TEDx Silicon Valley on Saturday. Hoffman, founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn.com, was the lead off speaker at the TEDx conference at Stanford University. Truth be told, everyone there–the two dozen or so presenters and the more than 200 attendees and volunteers–were all optimistic. […]

With capital scarce, venture capital and private equity firms are increasingly turning to the federal government’s Small Business Investment Co. (SBIC) program as a source of funding. In fact, this may be one of the best times to apply for SBIC funding, since the economic stimulus bill increased the maximum amount of combined SBIC leverage […]

A few weeks ago, I met with Mark Solon, managing partner of Boise, Idaho-based Highway 12 Ventures, while he was in Silicon Valley to attend some meetings. In addition to our lunchtime chat about the Boise State football team (BCS rank No. 6) and how my San Jose Sharks beat his New York Rangers, Solon talked a lot about the venture scene in Idaho and how it's similar to that of where Utah was a few years back. If it is indeed poised for growth, a good example may be the launch this year of August Ventures. Boise, Idaho-based August Ventures is seeking to invest in early stage cleantech companies. Areas of interest include renewable energy, energy storage, energy efficiency and advanced materials, according to the firm’s website. The firm calls Idaho home, but Eric Hansen, who runs the fund, says he will go anywhere in the Western U.S. where there is opportunity.

Luis Villalobos, co-founder of Tech Coast Angels, had been undergoing treatment for a lung infection in a Southern California hospital when he died Oct. 1 at the age of 70. Villalobos is often credited for propagating Southern California’s angel investment community. He launched Tech Coast Angels in 1997, served as its first president and he […]

Last week, I posted an item on peHUB about how VC-backed CalStar Products is finding a plethora of Ph.D.s in Silicon Valley to draw from for its R&D. The Newark, Calif.-based startup is developing a chemical process to make a "green brick" that it says creates 0.2 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions during the manufacturing process, compared to a traditional clay brick fired in a kiln, which produces about 1.3 pounds of CO2. CEO Mike Kane, who joined the company earlier this year from Atlanta, says that he's never worked with so many Ph.D.s before. In this week's PE Week, subscribers can read my story of how the company is in the midst of raising a $15 million Series C round of venture funding, which will include participation from returning investors Foundation Capital and EnerTech Capital. Kane says he hope to wrap up fund-raising before the end of the year, which will be just in time for the company to open its first manufacturing plant in Wisconsin to service the brick-heavy geography of the Midwest.

Silicon Valley has been the center of a lot of tech innovation. And at first glance, it seems an unlikely place to redo the common brick. But earlier this week I spent time at the Newark, Calif.-based R&D facility of CalStar Products, a VC-backed startup that uses a chemical process to make a “green brick” […]

Anyone who messes around on Facebook or any other social networking site knows that VC-backed Zynga Game Network has captured a lot of participants. Not a day goes by that I don't get hit up by another friend who wants me to play mafia boss or build a roller coaster, even though I'm already knee deep in farming. Mountain View, Calif.-based startup Watercooler, a social networking site that connects fans of sports teams and TV shows, is looking to join the party and become a player in the social networking gaming scene. Sunday night, the company announced it raised a $5.5 million Series B round. Investors included the online betting company Betfair and repeat entrepreneur Canaan Partners, which previously invested $4 million in the company.